In order to terminate an end of a conductor wire, it is known from U.S. Pat. No. 5,667,402 and others to provide a terminal within a housing and provide an upper portion defining an IDC slot where the upper portion extends outwardly of the housing. The housing has affixed thereto a pivotable wire carrier section that defines a wire-receiving aperture extending to and past a location just above a wire-terminating slot of the terminal when the pivotable section is in an open or wire-receiving position. After the end of the still-insulated wire end is inserted into the aperture, the wire carrier is then pivoted toward the terminal to force the wire and into the wire-terminating slot so that edges of the beams to either side of the slot penetrate the insulation end engage compressively with the wire conductor therewithin, in an insulation displacement connection (IDC). Such pivotable wire carriers are known to be used with wire having a 22 AWG (core diameter of 0.025 in.) or 24 AWG (core diameter of 0.020 in.), and rely on compressive engagement with the copper core involving some deflection of the beams of the terminal and some deformation of the copper.
Insulated steel core wire known as Aerial Drop Wire ("F" Drop) is utilized for two-conductor (tip and ring) cable strung to extend from a junction with telephone distribution cable at a telephone pole, to the Network Interface Device located on the outside of a subscriber's residence, where the wire is interconnected with premise wiring of the subscriber. Such exposed, freehanging cable is exposed to the elements, in many areas including icing in winter, and must include a tough insulative jacket and strength cores to sustain its own weight over distance and time without stretching. A copper-clad steel core satisfies the strength requirement with the copper-cladding therearound satisfying the conductivity requirement, as well; if all-copper conductive cores are utilized, then additional steel members must be provided within or joined to the cable. But for use of known pivotable wire carriers with 18.5 AWG Aerial drop wire, it is required to strip most of the insulation from the conductor wire prior to pressing into the slot in order to successfully terminate the wire at the connector module, for interconnection with a corresponding conductor of the premise wiring of the subscriber, since the beams of the terminal adjacent the IDC slot are deflectable and cannot reliably penetrate the tough insulation and assuredly compressively engage the conductive core; alternatively, a tool is utilized to close the connector.
It is also known from U.S. Pat. Nos. 5,557,250 and 5,863,215 to provide a planar terminal with a closed wire-receiving aperture at the entrance to the IDC slot, in order to assuredly hold together the ends of the beams defining the IDC slot for the cutting edges of the beams along the slot to assuredly penetrate the substantial thickness of insulation surrounding the conductor wire therewithin, for otherwise the beams would be deflected either laterally or twist or rotate. However, the existence of such a section holding together the ends of the beams of the planar terminal, as in U.S. Pat. No. 5,685,733, would substantially increase the height of the terminal above the wire-insertion aperture of both the terminal and the wire carrier and thus would interfere with pivoting movement of the wire carrier unless a clearance of substantial width and height were defined that would not be desirable in the known wire carrier design, resulting in either a larger, bulkier wire carrier or possibly weakening its strength, or undesirably exposing the terminals.
It is desired to provide a pivotable wire carrier that is useful with unstripped 18.5 AWG Aerial drop wire with a conductive core of about 0.035 to about 0.039 in. and an insulative jacket outer diameter of from 0.064 in. (for copper wire) to 0.180 in. (for copper clad steel wire).
It is desired to provide a terminal with an IDC section adapted to be used with 18.5 AWG Aerial drop wire.
It is desired to provide a low height terminal useful with 18.5 AWG Aerial drop wire, for use in a pivotable wire carrier providing IDC termination.